featured-image

ESPN's Latest Mock Draft Has The Trail Blazers Selecting...

With March Madness less than a month away, the most important games of the college basketball season are starting to get underway. And while scouting is more about what a player has done over the course of his career than it is picking out a few standout performances, teams do tend to pay a bit more attention to games against quality competition in which there's something riding on the outcome, making the run up to the NCAA Tournament an important evaluation period for NBA front offices. 

The same goes for the people who try to figure out which players teams are going to select at the NBA Draft. And in his most recent mock draft, Jon Givony of ESPN has the Trail Blazers selecting Dzanan Musa from Cedevita Zagreb of the Croatian League with the 16th overall pick...

Musa is averaging 10.5 points on 57 percent shooting from two, 36 percent shooting from three and 76 percent shooting from free throw line to go with 3.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.7 steals in 20.1 minutes per game in the EuroCup Top 16 this season. He also averaged 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 20 Adriatic League games this season. 

Givony notes that he including team need into his mock draft projections, and while he's correct that the Trail Blazers are a bit thin at the wing, drafting one of the youngest prospects (assuming he declares) who currently plays overseas might be a bit of a reach for a team that could use help sooner rather than later. 

For reference, Givony had the Trail Blazers selecting Miami guard/forward Lonnie Walker IV with the 18th pick in his previous mock draft. Now, Givony has Walker IV going to the Bulls with the 14th pick.